by Hope McLean
“I think this might be it,” she whispered. “I bet you could hide a lot of stuff in there.”
She pointed to a desk behind the red velvet rope just in front of her. Made of golden brown wood, the bottom portion of the desk was a cabinet with nine drawers, three across and three down. The top part folded out on brass hinges, revealing more tiny drawers and cubbyholes. Three beautifully carved seashells decorated three wood panels in the front of the top portion.
“Wow, look at all those drawers,” Lili said admiringly. “I could fit so many art supplies in there!”
Erin lowered her voice. “So, do you think the diamond could be in there somewhere?”
Willow nodded. “In her diary, Martha Washington said that Townsend was going to hide it for her. It makes sense that he would hide it in one of his pieces.”
“So what now?” Jasmine asked. “We can’t stand guard over it all the time. If the diamond is here, the Rivals could steal it, just like they stole the ruby.”
“Good point,” Willow said with a frown. “But even if we can’t guard the diamond, we can still keep an eye on the Rivals. Like, Ms. Keatley made plans for us later.”
Lili started snapping photos of the desk with her phone. “I’m going to take a lot of pictures. Maybe there’s a clue somewhere that will tell us where the diamond is hidden.”
“Good idea,” Erin agreed.
Jasmine nervously gazed around the room, worried that they might be drawing attention to themselves. The security guard was an older man with a beard. He walked slowly up and down the exhibit, but didn’t look interested in what the girls were doing at all.
But one visitor did seem attentive. Jasmine noticed that a short elderly woman kept walking back and forth, passing the girls each time. She wore a long, gray wool coat that matched her curly hair. She walked slowly, with a slight stoop.
Jasmine nudged Willow. “That old lady seems awfully interested in what we’re doing,” she whispered.
Willow casually glanced at the woman. Then her eyes narrowed.
“There’s something really familiar about her,” she said. “But I need to get a closer look. Do you have a pen on you?”
Jasmine rummaged through her bag and took out a pink marker. “How about this?”
“Perfect,” Willow said.
Willow slowly walked up behind the woman. Just as the lady turned around, Willow dropped the marker a few feet in front of her. Then she bent down to retrieve it. When Willow picked it up, she was face to face with the woman, just like she had planned.
The old lady was wearing glasses, but Willow could recognize those brown eyes — and suspiciously unwrinkled face — anywhere.
“Oh, hi, Aaron,” she said loudly. “Funny meeting you here!”
Aaron Santiago straightened up and took off his gray curly wig.
“Looks like you caught me,” he said with a sheepish grin.
By now, Lili, Erin, and Jasmine had come running over.
“Caught you spying on us?” Erin asked.
Aaron laughed. “Are you guys still on that kick? No, I was just practicing my acting. When I’m not doing quiz bowl, I’m in the drama club, you know.”
“Come on, Aaron,” Willow accused. “It’s so obvious you were spying on us.”
“What for?” Aaron asked. “Are you doing something worth spying on?”
Willow bit her lip. Letting the Rivals know that they knew about the diamond would not be smart. She saw Erin open her mouth and nudged her before she could say anything.
Aaron grinned. He seemed to enjoy seeing Willow uncomfortable.
“I’m just trying out a new character,” he said. “I’m pretty good at fooling people, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” Willow replied, looking him in the eyes. Just weeks ago, Aaron had disguised himself as a security guard at the Smithsonian Institution. He had fooled Willow then — and walked away with the Martha Washington ruby. But this time, she’d caught him.
Aaron’s eyes twinkled. “I’ve fooled a lot of people in DC,” he said, as though he were reading her mind. “So I thought, why not give it a try in the Big Apple? If I could pass for an old lady here, it would be genius.”
Erin stepped up to face him. “I don’t believe you for a second,” she said. “You’re here to steal that diamond.”
The girls couldn’t believe what Erin just blurted out. Willow sighed. Jasmine shook her head. Now the Rivals knew that the Jewels knew about the diamond. Talk about genius.
“Diamond? What diamond?” Aaron asked innocently, then smiled crookedly. “And even if I was, where’s your proof?”
He put the wig back on and winked at them, then slowly shuffled away.
Jasmine threw her hands up in the air. “That’s our problem. We never have any proof!”
“Erin, didn’t you feel me nudge you?” Willow hissed when Aaron was out of earshot.
“Well, yeah, but I thought you were just bumping into me,” Erin said. “Why?”
“Now the Rivals know that we know about the diamond,” Willow explained. “It’s going to be harder to stop them now! They’re going to be watching our every move.”
Erin blushed. “Oh, yeah. I guess I didn’t think of that. Sorry.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Lili said. “If he was trying to steal the diamond, we stopped him. That’s what we’re here to do, right?”
“But we’re not even sure there’s a diamond in that desk,” Jasmine pointed out. “We’re just guessing.”
“Right, but the fact that we found Aaron here means we’re on to something,” Willow said firmly. “From now on, we need to stick to those Rivals like glue.”
Erin raised her hand. “Dibs on anyone but Isabel!”
Lili laughed. “I agree. Erin and Isabel do not play well together!”
Erin sniffed. “As if she could play nice with anyone.”
“We have our chance this afternoon,” Willow reminded them. “We’re all going ice-skating together!”
“As if I could forget,” Erin rolled her eyes. “But we’ve got to do whatever we can to stop the Rivals — even if it means hanging out with them!”
* * *
After eating lunch at the museum’s café and a quick stop at the hotel, they set off for Rockefeller Plaza.
“Josh said it would be easier if they just met us there,” Ms. Keatley explained as they walked down Fifth Avenue. “He said that the kids had other plans earlier today.”
The girls exchanged glances. They knew what Aaron had been up to. But what had the other Rivals been doing? Jasmine felt a pang of worry. What if they were wrong about everything?
But the sight of many different flags flapping in the breeze distracted her. They were at Rockefeller Center!
The flags, in a rainbow of colors, overlooked the sunken plaza and the ice skating rink below. A crowd of people were standing around and watching the skaters.
“Wow!” Willow said, impressed. “It looks just like it does on TV!”
Couples holding hands went gliding by on the ice below. They shared the ice with parents skating with their children, solo skaters, and groups of giggling teenagers. Some were experienced, while others held on to the rail along the sides of the rink. And above it all stood a giant golden statue of a man set in the middle of a cascading fountain.
“Prometheus!” Erin exclaimed. “He stole fire from Zeus to give it to mortals. At least, according to Greek mythology he did.”
“Fire and ice, huh?” Lili wondered as she gazed out at the skaters. “Sounds like us and the Rivals!”
“And they’re the icy ones,” Jasmine chimed in. “Ice cold!”
“Yeah,” Erin agreed. “And we’re on fire with awesomeness!”
“Hey,” Ms. Keatley said. “I thought you girls were trying to make peace by coming here.”
Erin started to groan, but Willow jabbed her in the ribs. She quickly turned her groan into a cough.
Jasmine nodded. “You’re right, Ms. Keatley. I
was just joking around.”
“Well then, let’s go ice-skating!” Ms. Keatley said enthusiastically.
They walked through the outdoor gardens to reach the rink. At this time of year, the gardens were filled with fresh, sweet-smelling evergreen bushes and trees. When they reached the end, they climbed down the stairs to the skate house.
As Ms. Keatley paid for the skating session, Lili began to look anxious.
“What if I fall?” she asked nervously.
“You’ll get back up again,” Erin said confidently. “You’ll be fine.”
They rented ice skates and went to the locker room to change out of their shoes.
“This is even harder than it looks!” Lili said as she wobbled toward her friends. “And I’m not even on the ice yet!”
Finally, they stepped out onto the rink. Ms. Keatley began to glide slowly across the ice. “I haven’t been skating in years,” she said, a smile spreading across her face.
Willow and Jasmine followed behind her. “This is fun!” Jasmine said. She felt like she could skate away all her worries about the diamond.
Erin hung back with Lili, who was holding on to the rail as if her life depended on it.
“You can do it, Lili!” Erin cheered her on. “Move just a tiny bit away from the rail.”
Lili let go and shuffled a few inches.
“I’m doing it!” she smiled.
Suddenly, a fast skater zoomed by and clipped her on the shoulder, sending Lili crashing onto the ice.
“Hey!” Erin yelled. “Watch where you’re going!”
The skater swung around. It was Isabel!
“So sorry!” she said. “I knew we were supposed to go ice-skating with the Jewels, but I did not know the Jewels couldn’t skate!” She glided off, and then made a graceful twirl before disappearing into the crowd.
Erin felt her face growing hot. “We can too skate!” she yelled after Isabel as she helped her friend up. “I’ll show her.”
Willow, Jasmine, and Ms. Keatley heard the commotion and came skating back.
“Lili, are you okay?” their teacher looked worried.
“I’m fine.” Lili grinned. “Erin was right. If you fall, you just get back up again. My fear of falling on skates has been cured, thanks to Isabel.”
Willow glanced up. The other Rivals were taking to the ice, along with their advisor. A big smile broke out on his face when he saw Ms. Keatley. Mr. Haverford came skating over, with a reluctant-looking Ryan, Aaron, and Veronica trailing slowly behind. Ryan seemed to have “bored” written over his face, Veronica’s arms hung limply at her sides, and Aaron looked unsteady on his feet as he shuffled along.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” Mr. Haverford said to Ms. Keatley.
Ms. Keatley smiled. “How can you visit New York in the winter without a spin around the world’s most famous ice rink? It’s an experience I’m glad to share with the girls.”
“The girls? Oh, yes, of course,” Mr. Haverford chuckled. He had clearly forgotten anyone else was there. “I was thinking, maybe the kids would enjoy going to the observation deck at Rockefeller Center later? I heard it can be very romant — I mean, fun.”
Ryan looked at Willow and rolled his eyes. Then he grinned. Willow had to smile back. The only one who had no idea that Mr. Haverford was crushing on Ms. Keatley was Ms. Keatley herself!
“Um, maybe, if we have time,” Ms. Keatley said absently as she skated toward Lili. “Come on, Lili, we’ll have you skating like an Olympian before we leave.” The two glided off together slowly, Lili continuing to wobble, and Mr. Haverford following behind.
Just then Erin let out an angry shriek and pointed to the middle of the rink. Both the Rivals and the Jewels turned to look at what had upset her.
Isabel was front and center, doing a perfect spin. A crowd of skaters had gathered around her to watch. She had on a pink skirt over black leggings. The skirt twirled beautifully as she turned on the ice.
“Ugh!” Erin said. “Why does she have to be so annoying all the time?”
Aaron laughed. “That’s Isabel. She’s pretty much perfect. And if you forget, she’ll remind you.”
Veronica let out a big sigh. “Whatever. I don’t know why we had to come. I could be studying for quiz bowl instead.”
Jasmine exchanged glances with Willow. It was weird, hanging out with the Rivals like this.
Erin looked over at Lili, who had gone back to slipping her way along the handrail. Lili’s eyes seemed to be glued to Isabel as the Rival twisted and turned in graceful arcs. Lili was clearly too intimidated to try pushing off the rail again. It was time to take action.
“What’s so fun about skating all by yourself?” Erin asked their small group. “It’s conga time, people!”
“Conga?” Veronica asked in disbelief.
“Conga, conga, conga!” Erin sang out loudly. She grabbed Willow around the waist. “Conga line, right here!”
Willow sighed and started skating. She knew there was no stopping Erin when Isabel was involved.
Lili hung back, her eyes wide with fear.
“Grab on, Lili!” Erin urged her. “This is an easy way to learn without falling.”
Jasmine skated up behind her. “You hold on to Erin, and I’ll hold on to you. There’s no way you can fall, promise.”
“Well … okay,” Lili said reluctantly, and soon their small conga line was weaving around the rink.
“Conga line!” a skater in the crowd cried out, and placed her hands around Jasmine’s waist.
“Yes!” Erin yelled. “Come on, people. You’re not cool if you’re not in the conga line!”
A few of the skaters heard Erin, laughed, and joined in. As they skated around the rink, they picked up more and more people.
The chain of skaters glided around the edge of the ice. Isabel was still in the center, doing jumps and spins. But her audience was shrinking as the conga line grew.
“Jewels! Jewels! Jewels!” Erin started chanting. The conga line had no idea what she meant, but were having such a good time that they happily chimed in.
It was too much for Isabel. She stamped one skate-clad foot, pouted, and skated off the ice.
The other Rivals saw it as their chance to leave, too. They quickly followed Isabel toward the exit. Ryan turned and flashed another smile at Willow before leaving. It surprised her. She didn’t trust him, and she was definitely going to try her best to stop whatever plan he had for the diamond. But for the first time she didn’t find his smile totally annoying.
“I guess we’re leaving,” Mr. Haverford said to Ms. Keatley.
“Hmmm, what?” Ms. Keatley looked up from the conga line. “Oh, okay. Thanks. Have a good night.”
“Maybe I can get a rain check on the observation deck?” Mr. Haverford asked hopefully.
“The what?” Ms. Keatley asked over the chanting. “Oh. I guess so, if we get a chance before the trip is up.”
“Great!” The Rivals advisor smiled. “See you later!”
Since Lili was just getting the hang of it, they stayed and skated for a little longer before calling it quits.
“Skating is fun!” Lili said cheerfully in the locker room as they changed back into their shoes. “I’m no pro, but at least I know I can stand without falling now.”
“You did awesome, Lil!” Erin said. “But I’m beat. Starting a conga line is hard work.”
As Jasmine bent to tie her sneakers, a flash of yellow on the floor caught her eye. She got down on her knees and peered under the bench. It was a piece of yellow notebook paper, exactly like the one the other messages had been on! She grabbed it and sat back on the bench to read it.
“We’ve got another secret message!” she said excitedly. The Jewels gathered around. “But this one I don’t get. It looks like a map of Central Park.”
Willow snatched the note from her. “Huh,” she said. “It is. Someone drew it on here.” She pointed. “See — there is the Great Lawn. And these are the lakes and ponds.�
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Erin looked over Willow’s shoulder. “How do we know a tourist didn’t drop it? It could be just a coincidence that it’s on the same yellow paper.”
“Look at the lettering!” Lili pointed out. “It’s the same handwriting that was on the first note, I’m sure.”
Jasmine took the paper back from Willow and examined it closely. “And it says ‘Saturday, nineteen hundred.’ That’s military time again, just like the second clue.”
“Nineteen hundred means seven p.m.,” Willow explained.
“There’s more,” Jasmine said as her eyes searched the drawing. “The letters V, A, I, and R are scattered on the map.”
Willow looked thoughtful. “What does it mean? Is it another meeting time and place, like the Alice in Wonderland statue?”
“If it is, where are we supposed to meet?” Lili wondered.
“I’m not sure,” Willow answered. “But I do know one thing. Tomorrow is Saturday. We don’t have a lot of time to find out!”
While the Jewels were figuring out their latest clue in New York City, Eli Higashida, Lili’s brother, was at an Atkinson Prep Computer Club meeting solving a puzzle of his own.
“I think we should go with Linux clusters over Windows,” Eli said to his friend, Zane. “It’s way more efficient.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Zane answered. “I still can’t believe we’re building a supercomputer. It’s so totally cool. And it’s awesome that Mr. Atkinson is donating old computers from the school that we can use!”
Eli nodded slowly. Even though it was generous of their headmaster to give the club the computers, Eli had information that Zane did not. At first, Eli had thought his little sister, Lili, was crazy when she told him that the Rivals had stolen the ruby from Martha Washington. When it all turned out to be true, Eli tried to help the girls get the ruby back. But the Rivals had foiled their plans. Eli knew the group of Atkinson sixth graders must have had help to pull off the jewel heist, and he suspected Arthur Atkinson had given it to them.
And is he helping them to steal even more jewels now? Eli wondered. Before she left for New York, Lili had told him the Jewels suspected the Rivals were going to strike again in New York City and steal a diamond. Eli sighed and ran his hand over his spiky black hair. All he wanted to worry about was joining a cluster of computers together to create one powerful supermachine — not his little sister getting mixed up with a gang of juvenile jewel thieves!